United States District Court, D. Maryland
MEMORANDUM OPINION
JAMES
K. BREDAR, CHIEF JUDGE
Self-represented
Plaintiff DeJesus Collins, a State prisoner incarcerated at
Jessup Correctional Institution ("JCI") in Jessup,
Maryland, filed an unverified[2] Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 seeking unspecified damages against Correctional
Defendants Warden Casey Campbell and Officer Ademola Adeniyi
for an alleged sexual assault occurring on April 10, 2018.
Now pending is an unopposed[3] Motion to Dismiss or, in the
Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment filed by
Correctional Defendants Campbell and Williams. ECF No.
7.[4]
For the reasons stated below, Defendants' dispositive
motion, construed as a motion for summary judgment,
[5]
will be granted.
Background
A.
Plaintiff Collins's Allegations
Collins
states that between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. on April 10, 2018, he
was in his wheelchair and under escort by Officer Adeniyi to
attend a medical appointment. During this time Adeniyi
"made sexual advances" while they were in the
hallway near the psychology office. Compl., ECF 1, p. 2.
Collins states they stopped in the hallway near the hospital
restroom and when he told Adeniyi that he had to use the
bathroom, Adeniyi stated "go on yourself so I can
see." Id., pp. 4-5. Collins claims Adeniyi
pushed him to an isolated hallway out of camera range where
there were no witnesses and put his hand down his back. When
Collins resisted, Adeniyi hit him in the back, causing
Collins to fall from his wheelchair, where Adeniyi continued
his assault. Id., p. 5. Collins states Adeniyi
"backed off' when Collins started "holl[er]ing
for help" and someone called a supervisor. Collins
claims a captain responded to the request for a supervisor.
Id.
B.
Defendants' Assertions[6]
Defendant
Adeniyi was on duty on April 10, 2018, working the 3-11pm
shift, when he was ordered to escort Collins in his
wheelchair from his cell to the medical unit for a scheduled
IV drip. ECF No. 7-2, Decl. of Ademola Adeniyi, ¶ 3.
After a nurse inserted the IV drip, Adeniyi escorted Collins
and the attached IV stand to a nearby medical holding cell so
the IV drip could be completed. Id. Roughly five
minutes later, Collins asked to use the restroom, so Adeniyi
escorted him to a nearby restroom. Id. After Collins
left the restroom, he stated he would not return to the
holding cell in case he needed to use the restroom again. He
further stated he wanted to be transferred to housing at
Jessup Regional Hospital ("JRH"), the prison
hospital adjacent to the medical unit Id.
Medical
staff walking by told Collins that his transfer to JRH would
not be possible at that time. Id., ¶ 3. By
then, Collins's presence obstructed the flow of movement
in the hallway as other prisoners began arriving at the
medical unit for their scheduled medical visits. This created
a potential security risk because Adeniyi was required to
keep himself between Collins and other prisoners passing by
in the hallway. Id. Adeniyi and other officers
posted near the medical area asked Collins to agree to be
taken to the holding cell to complete his IV drip, but he
refused. Id.
Adeniyi
avers that in accordance with institutional procedures,
officers may not make physical contact with wheelchair-bound
prisoners without their consent. Id., ¶ 4.
After about ten minutes, Collins still refused to be placed
into the holding cell but agreed to be moved to a different
part of the hallway near the psychology office, where there
was no prisoner traffic. Id., ¶ 5. Once there,
Collins began to push himself in the wheelchair towards JRH.
Id. Adeniyi ordered him to stop and stood in front
of Collins, blocking him from continuing any further in his
wheelchair, then told Collins he was returning him back to
the holding cell area. Id. When Adeniyi went behind
the wheelchair to begin pushing him back to the holding cell
area, Collins put his feet on the floor. Id., ¶
6. When Adeniyi ordered him to pick his feet up from the
floor, Collins stood up from the wheelchair and laid down on
the hallway floor on his side, stating that he was not going
anywhere until he saw a supervisor or captain. Id.
Collins refused Adeniyi's orders to get back into the
wheelchair. Id.
A nurse
passing by offered to hold the wheelchair while Adeniyi
helped Collins back into the wheelchair; however,
institutional procedure did not permit Adeniyi to make
physical contact with Collins in that situation.
Id., ¶ 6. Medical personnel tried to talk
Collins into getting back into his wheelchair, but he
refused. Adeniyi instructed an officer to call for the shift
captain, who arrived within a couple minutes. Id.
Following procedure, the Captain assumed custody of Collins
and directed Adeniyi to exit the area in order to alleviate
any possible escalation of the situation. Id. Later
in his shift, Adeniyi learned of the allegations Collins made
against him and was instructed to write a Matter of Record
(MOR) statement. Id.; see also ECF No. 7-3, Serious
Incident Report, pp. 12-13.
Adeniyi
avers he never made sexual advances towards Collins and did
not state "go on [yourself] so I can see" as
alleged in the Complaint. Id., ¶ 7. Adeniyi
further avers that he never placed his hand down
Collins's back, never struck Collins's back, causing
him to fall out of his wheelchair, and never physically
assaulted Collins. Id., ¶ 8. Adeniyi received
no reprimand as a result of the allegations made against him.
Id., ¶ 10.
Defendants
note that in light of Collins's allegations, a Serious
Incident Report (SIR) investigation was conducted by the
shift captain. ECF No. 7-3, Declaration of Erika Fitch,
Administrative Case Manager, with attachments, p. 2. The
investigation substantially confirmed Adeniyi's version
of the event. The summary found that during the medical visit
for his IV drip, Collins became disruptive by stopping his
wheelchair with his feet and lying on the floor after he was
informed by staff that he could not be housed in JRH as he
requested. Collins then made verbal statements to the shift
captain accusing Adeniyi of punching him with closed fists in
the stomach and back, but the shift captain observed no
injuries or bruises on Collins. Collins refused to provide a
written statement on the day of the alleged incident but
wrote one the following day accusing Adeniyi of sexual
advances in violation of PREA ("Prison Rape Elimination
Act"). No. video footage was available for the
incident.[7] Id., pp. 3-4. The report also
noted that in addition to Adeniyi's written statement of
the incident, both the shift captain and one of the medical
officers also provided their written statements supporting
Adeniyi's version of events. Id., pp. 7-8, 15.
The
nursing assessment following physical examination of Collins
on April 10, 2018, found "no redness, bruising or wound
was noted [on] alleged trauma sites." ECF 7-4,
Declaration of Nichole Madison, Medical Records Custodian,
with pertinent medical records, p. 2. When Collins reported
the PREA claim to medical staff on April 11, 2018, he was
immediately interviewed and assessed by JCI medical staff.
Id., p. 3. Color photos of Collins's upper torso
were taken by staff during the SIR investigation.
Id., pp. 25-28. When questioned by corrections
staff, Collins first denied that the officer touched his
"butt or [his] penis" (id.), then reported
to medical staff later the same day that the "officer
touched him on the rear." Id., p. 5. His
physical exam was negative for any swelling or bruises.
Collins was not sent to the hospital for forensic examination
and follow-up because there was no indication of an exchange
of bodily fluids. Id. Additional follow-up was
"not indicated, as [Collins was] medically stable."
Id.
Defendant
Campbell's Declaration rests on knowledge that the
incident was reported and, in his capacity as Warden,
Campbell expects staff to comply with prison directives and
policies governing safety and ...